Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON THIRTY-ONE

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

I am not the victim of the world I see.

Well that’s good news, because the world looks extremely grim to Me!

Indeed it does, for You have simply forgotten that – ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – the world You see is victim to the point of view belonging to the ego. Just as beauty lies with the Beholder, misery does too. And You can choose a different, better view. This is always true.

Remember that the separation was a choice made by the Son of God – that’s You.

And in that understanding view My words again:

“Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn, presented once again. So, where you made a faulty choice before, you can now make a better one, and thus escape all pain that what you chose before has brought to You.”

What seems to have been done can be undone.

This is such good news! You are not victim of the world You see, for this is how the Son has made it be; yet only in His imagination. Not Reality.

1 Today’s idea is the introduction to your declaration of release. Again, the idea should be applied to both the world you see without and the world you see within.

– For they are both from imaginations. –

In applying the idea, we will use a form of practice which will be used more and more, with changes as indicated. Generally speaking, the form includes two aspects, one in which you apply the idea on a more sustained basis, and the other consisting of frequent applications of the idea throughout the day.

These Lessons are meant to be daily lived.

3 Today’s idea should be applied as often as possible throughout the day. Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to yourself slowly, looking about you and trying to realize that the idea applies to everything you do see now or could see now if it were within the range of your sight.

What We aim for here is to see with the eyes of God, for these eyes are Ours as well. These eyes are eyes of Love, and not of ego judgment. How do You prefer to see, and how would You choose to be seen? In the ‘world’ the choice You make does but determine the other.

If You would be seen as Christ, see as Christ. It’s very simple. “Do unto Others …

2 Two longer periods of practice with the idea for today are needed, one in the morning and one at night. Three to five minutes for each of them are recommended. During that time, look about you slowly while repeating the idea two or three times. Then close your eyes and apply the same idea to your inner world. You will escape from both together, for the inner is the cause of the outer.

Change Your mind about the world You see, and then watch Your world changing accordingly. You simply see what You have outpictured.

3 As you survey your inner world, merely let whatever thoughts cross your mind come into your awareness, each to be considered for a moment and then replaced by the next. Try not to establish any thought of hierarchy among them. Watch them come and go as dispassionately as possible. Do not dwell on any one in particular, but try to let the stream move on evenly and calmly, without any special investment on your part.

– As if it were upon a movie screen, as indeed it is: the screen of Your own imaginations. Comes courtesy of “Ego Productions” version of Your ‘life’! Better to have God as Your Producer. –

As you sit and quietly watch your thoughts, repeat today’s idea to yourself as often as you care to, but with no sense of hurry.

Do it happily. It will bring to You a sense of freedom.

4 In addition, repeat the idea for today as often as possible during the day. Remind yourself that you are making a declaration of independence in the name of your own freedom. And in your freedom lies the freedom of the world.

Your Freedom rests with You, with no other. And this is why You are not a victim.

5 The idea for today is a particularly useful one to use as a response to any form of temptation. It is a declaration that you will not yield to it and put yourself in bondage.

This Course is Your avenue to Freedom.

You need not create It, just accept It.

The Love of God is completely freeing, and freely given. Why not start right now? You can forever freely receive It.

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON THIRTY

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

God is in everything I see, because God is in my mind.

God is in Your mind because God is Your very mind. You really have no other, although the ego does dispute this most vociferously.

The ego speaks so loudly that the “still, small Voice” of God1 is rarely heard until You are willing to be still and listen. Then does the ever-pouring fountain rise in Your mind with Joy.

1 The idea for today is the springboard for vision. From this idea will the world open up before you, and you will look upon it and see in it what you have never seen before. Nor will what you saw before be even faintly visible to you.

You will be like Someone waking from a long and quite painful nightmare to find that it was but a dream.

2 Today we are trying to use the new kind of projection. We are not attempting to get rid of what we do not like by seeing it outside. Instead, we are trying to see in the world what is in our minds, and what we want to recognize is there. Thus we are trying to join with what we see, rather than keeping it apart from us. That is the fundamental difference between vision and the way you see.

This principle is spoken of in this excellent poem by Edwin Markham:

“Heretic, rebel, thing to flout;

He drew a circle that shut Me out.

But Love and I had the wit to win.

We drew a circle that took Him in.”

We can always redraw Our circles, change Our minds about the things We see, and – as the Course says – they will change accordingly.

This Lesson aims for that happy result.

3 Today’s idea should be applied as often as possible throughout the day. Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to yourself slowly, looking about you and trying to realize that the idea applies to everything you do see now or could see now if it were within the range of your sight.

What We aim for here is to see with the eyes of God, for these eyes are Ours as well. These eyes are eyes of Love, and not of ego judgment. How do You prefer to see, and how would You choose to be seen? In the ‘world’ the choice You make does but determine the other.

If You would be seen as Christ, see as Christ. It’s very simple. “Do unto Others …

4 Real vision is not limited to concepts such as “near” and “far.” To help you begin to get used to this idea, try to think of things beyond your present range as well as those you can actually see, as you apply today’s idea. Real vision is not only unlimited by space and distance, but it does not depend on the body’s eyes at all. The mind is its only source.

Consciousness is both Source and Substance of All Things Real and Good.

Unconsciousness – the ego thinking its thoughts – is quite unreal

5 To aid in helping you to become more accustomed to this idea as well, devote several practice periods to applying today’s idea with your eyes closed, using whatever subjects come to mind and looking within rather than without. Today’s idea applies equally to both.

Seemingly within or without, both are misperceptions seen through the lens of the ego. Do You really want to think and see what isn’t there? It won’t be there again today. How insane is the ego. And You are not an ego. You are God’s own belovèd One, also known as the Son. Every One, the Son.

——————————–

11st Kings, chapter 19

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and He said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, [even] I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; [but] the LORD [was] not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake:

And after the earthquake a fire; [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON TWENTY-NINE

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

God is in everything I see.

Is there any part of anything, anywhere, that is not of God? There is not. There is no part of Me, no part of You, no part of that table, that God is not, for God is all Things Good and Real, bright and beautiful as well.

Brother, please help Me correct My vision. For I would see the glory of the Universe of God, and not the travesty made by the ego.

1 The idea for today explains why you can see all purpose in anything. It explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in itself.

God is the Eternal Substance. For God is Light, God is Love, God is Life. And so are All Things in the Universe. We All are one common Substance, but one shared Understanding.

One Joined Consciousness.

And it explains why nothing you see means anything. In fact, it explains every idea we have used thus far and all subsequent ones as well. Today’s idea is the whole basis for vision.

Since everything You see is separate and dense, it is meaningless in the face of Our Unity, Oneness of Spirit.

So Be determined to see for the sight is beyond beauty.

2 You will probably find this idea very difficult to grasp at this point. You may find it silly, irreverent, senseless, funny, and even objectionable. Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as you see it. Yet we emphasized yesterday that a table shares the purpose of the universe. And what shares the purpose of the universe shares the purpose of its Creator.

So, then, how can a table be Holy? It is – for You – an idea quite useful, is it not? You can write on it, prepare things on it, eat on it, put Your computer on it. Now as Reality communication is but instant through Consciousness. You are complete and need not consume another Thing to maintain Your Life, and Consciousness is Your computer. The table – the computer, fork and pen, the plants You think do sustain You – in the dream support Your Functions You have limited, and Love You while they gladly assist You.

There is no separation of Creator and Creation: This Universe, it is not diverse, despite Infinite Ideas; for Each Idea is but a Part of One stupendous Whole.

The table does support Your re-memory of Who You are. Son of God, so dearly belovèd One.

3 Try then today to begin to learn how to look on all things with love, appreciation, and open-mindedness. You do not see them now.

– For Your thought has become so limited. –

Would you know what is in them?

– What is Their Purpose? –

Nothing is as it appears to you. Its holy purpose stands beyond your little range. When vision has shown you the holiness that lights up the world,

– so that You can see It is but Heaven, right here and right now –

you will understand today’s idea perfectly. And you will not understand how you could ever have found it difficult.

For You will have become re-united.

Happiness will flood Your very Be-ing, as You discover Who and What You are: God’s Son belovèd.

4 Our six two-minute practice periods for today should follow a now familiar pattern: begin with repeating the idea to yourself, and then apply it to randomly chosen subjects about you, naming each one specifically. Try to avoid the tendency toward self-directed selection, which may be particularly tempting in connection with today’s idea because of its wholly alien nature. Remember that any order you impose is equally alien to reality.

You cannot serve both God and ego. You cannot serve two masters, diametrically opposed to One another. One must be supreme. Which one?1

5 Your list of subjects should therefore be as free of self-selection as possible. For example, a suitable list might include:

6 God is in this coat hanger.
God is in this magazine.
God is in this finger.
God is in this lamp.
God is in that body.
God is in that door.
God is in that waste basket.

7 In addition to the assigned practice periods, repeat the idea for today at least once an hour, looking slowly about you as you say the words unhurriedly to yourself.

– You may find Yourself flooded with a sense of gratitude as the Love all Things have for You does get through. –

At least once or twice you should experience a sense of restfulness as you do this.

A sense of safety may come over You, for what harm can come to You when You are kissing cousin with everything that Be? Now can You see how It is all one Family, come forth from Our Father-Mother God, Our Holy Source.

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON TWENTY-EIGHT

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

Above all else I want to see things differently.

Not just from a different point of view within the ego dream. That would but be akin to divorcing and then getting once again remarried. For this is still a partial sense of Love. We All are wedded to the Universe.

To see things differently is to see as do the ‘eyes’ of God, Vision Divine, for the eyes of God is but the Vision that sees all things with and as Love.

1 Today we are really giving specific application to the idea for yesterday. In these practice periods, you will be making a series of definite commitments.

In Lesson 25 I mentioned that You know You want to call Another, yet You do not know really why. You have a ‘reason’ for the contact to suit Your own purposes, yet it is quite limited, and furthers only ego goals.

Everything the ego mindset thinks it needs, does but have an underlying goal of great importance. The ego goal is to make the dream be satisfying by an accumulation of ever more ‘people’ and ‘things’. This fails abysmally, sooner or later.

For what the ego conveniently ignores is that it chose the separation, continuing the choice each and every moment of its endless, repetitions of what it calls ‘life’.

And so You’re always looking for some thing to fill the emptiness of rejection of Your Be-ing, be it more relationships, more food, new clothes, another tv show, opera or play, a trip to brand new shores, something to fill the emptiness that haunts the dream. And dream ‘creations’ cannot do it, for it is All the Rest of You that You are really missing. Known as the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit is calling to You in those same moments, for It would have You whole; both unified and satisfied and oh so happy! You may know Its Voice by Its choice, which is not for getting, but it is for giving.

These commitments are such a glad step toward Your True Happiness.

The question of whether you will keep them in the future is not our concern here. If you are willing at least to make them now, you have started on the way to keeping them. And we are still at the beginning.

They are simply that “little willingness” for which I’ve asked You. Very glad am I to have received it. And I do thank You.

2 You may wonder why it is important to say, for example, “Above all else I want to see this table differently.” In itself it is not important at all. Yet what is by itself? And what does “in itself” mean? You see a lot of separate things about you, which really means you are not seeing at all. You either see or not. When you have seen one thing differently, you will see all things differently. The light you will see in any one of them is the same light you will see in them all.

And You are that Light as well. And Light and Love and Life are what make up All Creation.

3 When you say, “Above all else I want to see this table differently,” you are making a commitment to withdraw your preconceived ideas about the table and open your mind to what it is and what it is for. You are not defining it in past terms. You are asking what it is, rather than telling it what it is. You are not binding its meaning to your tiny experience of tables, nor are you limiting its purpose to your little personal thoughts.

Yes! That is excellent. You are remembering how in Your childhood the patterns on the oriental rug became oceans and continents that You traversed to reach the cave underneath the piano. No other trip has ever equaled those brave voyages You daily made.

Who took that wondrous Universe and turned it into just a mundane living room? Who made the decision that the living room was real, and the Universe was not?

When You are dreaming, is one thing more real than another one? And just who makes the determination? You have abdicated to the ego. And yet, it still remains a dream, and who controls the dream but the Dreamer.

All of You, step back into childhood for a moment where everything was possible. And if You feel comfortable with it, take that possibility into here and now and have some fun with it as this Lesson helps You regain Your curiosity and freedom.

I do not mean to glorify any of the dream, just help to free You from it.

4 You will not question what we have already defined. And the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and receive the answers. In saying, “Above all else I want to see this table differently,” you are committing yourself to seeing. It is not an exclusive commitment. It is a commitment which applies to the table just as much as to anything else, neither more nor less.

We are asking for a Vision both impartial and Universal, Loving All.

5 You could, in fact, gain vision from just that table if you could withdraw all your own ideas from it and look upon it with a completely open mind. It has something to show you-something beautiful and clean and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope. Hidden under all your ideas about it is its real purpose, the purpose it shares with all the universe.

Radiating All the Good that God is.

6 In using the table as a subject for applying the idea for today, you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the universe. You will be making this same request of each subject which you use in the practice periods. And you are making a commitment to each of them to let their purpose be revealed to you instead of placing your own judgment upon them.

All Reality but exists for Good.

7 We will have six two minute practice periods today in which the idea for the day is stated first and then applied to whatever you see in looking about you. Not only should the subjects be chosen randomly, but each one should be accorded equal sincerity as today’s idea is applied to it in an attempt to acknowledge the equal value of them all in their contribution to your seeing.

Let Your Love just bless everything You see.

8 As usual, the applications should include the name of the subject which your eyes happen to light on, and you should rest your eyes on it while saying:

9 Above all else, I want to see this ______ differently.

10 Each application should be made quite slowly and as thoughtfully as possible. There is no hurry.

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON TWENTY-SEVEN

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

Above all else I want to see.

Apparently I have been quite blind to Reality, for what appears to be an eternity.

Dear Sisters, dear Brothers, indeed You have. And yet it is a self-induced disability from which You can recover easily, with a simple change of mind shifting Me to We.

Before the separation, which seemed like a neat idea – and wasn’t, for it was self-impelled in a step from We to Me – Your Oneness stands untouched, the basis of all Eternity. You just ignore it, preferring special, partial ‘love’ instead.

Yet right beyond Your present sight, it seems that something else is there, and, indeed, it is. And today We will seek to find It.

1 Today’s idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives vision priority among your desires. You may feel hesitant about using the idea on the ground that you are not sure you really mean it. This does not matter. The purpose of today’s exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer.

What You tell Yourself does rule in the dream. Why not use that capacity to speak of Reality?

2 There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else.

– This is the ego sense, suggesting You use caution with an idea that risky! (Tricky little devil is the ego.) –

If you become uneasy about the lack of reservation involved, add:

3 Vision has no cost to anyone.

It is Your Gift from God, freely given.

4 If fear of loss still persists, add further:

5 It can only bless.

I am not afraid; it is the ego.

God has only Good for Me. I am safe. I am very Loved. I am Loved by God. His Love is so powerful, yet gentle.

And I can relax. I can lean on the everlasting arms, safe in Love’s embrace.

6 The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum benefit. It should be used at least every half hour, and more often if possible. You might try for every 15 or 20 minutes. It is recommended that you set a definite time interval for using the idea when you wake or shortly afterwards and attempt to adhere to it throughout the day. It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation or otherwise occupied at the time. You can still repeat one short sentence to yourself without disturbing anything that is going on.

I am Loved by God. It is safe to see.

7 The real question is how often will you remember? How much do you want today’s idea to be true? Answer one of these questions, and you have answered the other. You will probably miss several applications and perhaps quite a number. Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your schedule from then on. If only once during the day you feel that you were perfectly sincere while you were repeating today’s idea, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many years of effort.

And will save Yourself many more years of pain and suffering – (any time You heed My words to choose again) – which can now be exchanged for freedom.

Are You a little willing yet, to have that little willingness for which I’ve asked?

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON TWENTY-SIX

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.

Which are their only purpose, to keep You locked within the dream of a false perception of Yourself, and a prisoner forever in a cell of Your own making.

You are like the infant Prince, kidnapped by the gypsies, twenty years gone by when they return to the castle town. You are instantly recognized by the Grand Vizir who runs up to You insisting that You are the long-lost Prince.

Happy as a gypsy, You protest, saying: “No, I’m not, look at Me! I am dressed like a gypsy, act like a gypsy, and I do think gypsy thoughts. And I’m very happy as a gypsy. As life goes, it’s fun!”

“That may be, thinking that You’re ‘only human.’” responds the Grand Vizir. “Nonetheless You are the Prince. See Your perfect likeness to the King!”

Slowly – oh so very slowly – does the realization dawn on You that You are much more than ‘human’, run by the ego .

How long must We – the Father, I, and the Holy Spirit – remind You of Your Indivisibility with God? What payoff do You get for Your denial, other than more misery and painful vulnerability and the ability to stay insane?

Why would You choose pian? Is fear appealing?

1 It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked, you are not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is because you believe that you can really attack.

– Is aggression fun? –

And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you.

– What You do unto Others, You receive. –

It is this law that will ultimately save you. But you are misusing it now. You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests rather than against them.

On this holy basis stands what has been called My Golden Rule. It rests upon perfect simplicity, so a child can clearly understand it: “As You would be done to, do to Others.”

Would You not rather Love Your Brother and feel His Love returned to You, a perfect game of catch, with Your Love the perfect match.

Most of You look frantically for Someone to Love You too. Yet from a broken shell You notice on the beach comes a stream of Love like to the ocean! And yet You feel it not, defended against Your vulnerability. Yet it is not aggression that You really fear, but Love instead.

You can’t avoid it! Love is everywhere, just like Our Father! If You would but lay down Your defenses, You would clearly feel It, Be-ing Your Be-ing. How like the Father are You beautiful.

Why don’t You see It?

2 Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other.

3 The idea for today introduces the thought that you always attack yourself. If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself. And because you believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself.

– Divine Self of God that You really are. –

A false image of yourself has come to take the place of what you are.

4 Practice with today’s idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so.

5 Six practice periods are required in applying today’s idea. A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although the time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. Do not reduce it further.

6 The practice period should begin with repeating the idea for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved situations whose outcomes are causing you concern. The concern may take the form of depression, worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding, or preoccupation. Any problem as yet unsettled which tends to recur in your thoughts during the day is a suitable subject. You will not be able to use very many for any one practice period, because a longer time than usual should be spent with each one. Today’s idea should be applied as follows:

7 First, name the situation:

8 I am concerned about ______.

9 Then go over every possible outcome which has occurred to you in that connection and which has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically, saying:

10 I am afraid ______ will happen.

11 If you are doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six distressing possibilities available for each situation you use and quite possibly more. It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly than to touch on a larger number.

12 As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those which occur to you toward the end, less acceptable to you. Try, however, to treat them all alike to whatever extent you can.

13 After you have named each outcome of which you are afraid, tell yourself:

Guidance from Elder Brotheras Received and Transcribed by Sun~Rose**~*~*~*~*~*~*~CIMS DAILY LESSON

LESSON TWENTY-FIVE

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

I do not know what anything is for.

In the dream You have a saying: “What’s done is done and cannot be undone.” And that’s because You think the dream is real. It’s not.

So what You thought was done is easily undone by Wakening. And the above admission initiates the process.

This Lesson offers You the opportunity to choose once again, and to learn of Reality.

1 Purpose is meaning. Today’s idea explains why nothing you see means anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore it is meaningless to you. Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.

2 You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests because the ego is not you.

– Although You surely think its voice is Yours, it isn’t. You have been bound and gagged by the ego, imprisoned by Your own ‘creative willfulness’. –

This false identification makes you incapable of understanding what anything is for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it. When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world instead of attempting to reinforce them.

And with My help and Your willingness, You can be successful.

3 Another way of describing the goals you now perceive as valuable is to say that they are all concerned with “personal” interests. Since you have no personal interests, your goals are really concerned with nothing. In cherishing them, therefore, you have no goals at all. And thus you do not know what anything is for.

4 Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for today, one more thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you do recognize purpose. Yet purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For example, you do understand that a telephone is for the purpose of talking to someone who is not physically in your immediate vicinity. What you do not understand is what you want to reach him for. And it is this that makes your contact with him meaningful or not.

5 It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have established for everything. The recognition that they are meaningless, rather than “good” or “bad,” is the only way to accomplish this. The idea for today is a step in this direction.

Actually, within a dream, only two goals are possible: one is to stay asleep, and the other is to Awaken.

6 Six practice periods, each of two minutes duration, are required. Each practice period should begin with a slow repetition of the idea for today followed by looking about you and letting your glance rest on whatever happens to catch your eye, near or far, “important” or “unimportant,” “human” or “unhuman.” With your eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for example:

7 I do not know what this chair is for.
I do not know what this pencil is for.
I do not know what this hand is for.

8 Say this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes until you have completed the statement. Then move on to the next subject, and apply today’s idea as before.

You may begin to question if You really know Yourself, and then ask: ‘Am ‘I’ an illusion I recall? Do I really know My Self at all?

You may find it surprisingly quite freeing, the acknowledgement that You really know nothing. Uncluttered mind is seen to be unlimited possibility.